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Jan 7, 2014

Chinese Trinidadian Chicken with Mango Chutney | Wok Wednesdays

The story of this Chinese Trinidadian Chicken is as interesting as the dish is delicious.

This dish's roots are in the Chinese, and more importantly, the Hakka diaspora from China. The Hakka were, according to Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge by Grace Young, considered the gypsies of China.

During the time that the United States was not admitting Chinese immigrants (1882 to 1943), many of the Hakka people emigrated to Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. The journey from China to the Caribbean was arduous and traumatic. When they finally settled in Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, they combined their traditional Hakka dishes with available local ingredients and spicy Creole and Indian traditions.

I've just given you a very short version of the story. I really recommend getting the book to read more about the Chinese diaspora.

Let's talk about the food!

This chicken dish combines the flavors of mango chutney, soy sauce (regular and dark), and Scotch bonnet peppers, along with garlic, ginger, and onions. The onions are actually my favorite part of this dish and I could eat them all day.

The dish is topped with chopped cilantro, to mimic the flavor of shandon beni leaves from Trinidad. Along with salt, pepper, and peanut oil, that's pretty much it. I could not find Scotch bonnet peppers, so I used a Habanero. I looked up the heat index, and Habaneros are a great substitute. You can adjust the pepper quantity based upon the heat index.

The members of the Wok Wednesdays group have all agreed to not rewrite the recipes from the book. I encourage you to get the book. It's fabulous. Every single recipe I have tried so far has been flawless and all of the stories are captivating.

Here's a sneak peek of frying the chicken and the onions... Stop by the Wok Wednesdays website and click on the links to see how others fared with this dish.

This dish is amazing and a new favorite. Get the book. Try the recipe. It's seriously good and so easy.

We had this with rice and a cabbage salad, and we had enough for four people.

This dish seems to represent a fusion of cultures during a difficult time. I am very interested to learn more! I never knew about the immigration to Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. This chicken sounds so good! I'm so happy that I stopped by for wok Wednesday!